Riding the Mekong Delta Loop – Pt. 1

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Renegades Logbook is back for our Special Honeymoon Edition!

We’re reporting live and direct from Vietnam, where we just completed the first half of the Mekong Delta Motorcycle Loop — starting from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon in the east) and arriving at Phú Quôc Island (off the coast of Cambodia in the west) — following four days of adventure riding.

Okay, it’s our honeymoon, so first we did a little (a lot) of partying in the GoGo bars. I know you want to see some ninja shots from the GoGo bars …. and you know I’m gunna give it to you. This is Renegades Logbook, damnit!

(Getting a professional opinion on her new tattoo)
(Waking up in a Saigon hotel room after returning from the GoGo bars at 8 a.m.)

Next we spent several days searching for a moto big enough to haul an American guy, a Brazilian girl, and our luggage — which was nearly impossible because everyone in Vietnam rides scooters the size of toaster ovens.

Fortunately, we scored a Honda CB500x with luggage panniers from The Extra Mile, a moto adventure shop in Ho Chi Minh City run by a high-energy Peruvian guy named Renzo, and his charming Vietnamese wife.

(We traded our honeymoon suite for this…)

There’s a lot to explain about this moto loop, but sources tell me the average attention span has now dropped to eight (!) seconds … so rather than bla-bla-bla, I will just drop some of the media highlights.

(The Lonely Buddha of Thanh Tam Pagoda, first stop out of Ho Chi Minh City)
(Relaxing at Sen Hong Dong Thap Muoi restaurant along the Mekong Delta. Try the snakehead fish.)
(Randomly stopped at this school and the kids came out screaming like Prince William just arrived, or something)
(Entering the ferry to cross the Mekong River)

In case you’re considering your own moto trip here in Vietnam, I should say something about the riding conditions. It’s not really riding but more like weaving through a tapestry of scooters, carts, and trucks coming at you. You are the needle and you need to thread yourself into the colorful tapestry of traffic, and make micro-adjustments to flow on thru.

(We took a gondola ride to reach the Temple of the Laughing Buddha near the town of My Tho)
(What’s more shiny, the temple, or my head?)

When you reach the ferry to Phú Quôc make sure to have breakfast first, because it’s a 3.5 hour ride through the Gulf of Thailand to reach the island, and you can’t even buy a pack of crackers on the boat.

(Made it to the island! Time for Brazilian girl to shed her moto gear for the G string)

Greetings from Phú Quôc Island in the Gulf of Thailand!

I stole this map from another page because the actual map we were provided for our Mekong Delta Loop is insanely complicated, and this one looks more like a Renegade treasure map! Also, it’s roughly represetative of the adventure we’ve been on.

Stay tuned for Episode 2… Return to Saigon!

Now excuse us while we go drink some $1 beers on the beach…

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